Sen. Emmons applauds Huntington Foam expansion

LANSING – Sen. Judy Emmons announced today that Huntington Foam will be creating 30 jobs and investing up to $2.56 million to expand their current Greenville facility after the Michigan Strategic Fund approved a performance-based grant for the project on Wednesday.

“This is wonderful news for the entire mid-Michigan region,” said Emmons, R-Sheridan. “I applaud Huntington Foam for investing in Michigan. Neighboring states were courting them for these jobs, but Huntington Foam chose Michigan. It is a decision that greatly benefits the residents of our area and illustrates that the changes we made last year are working to make Michigan attractive to job creators.

“I also want to thank the Michigan Strategic Fund and the city of Greenville for working with Huntington Foam to help make this important investment happen. It means jobs for Michigan workers, but also a significant return on investment for state taxpayers.”

Huntington Foam LLC is a custom foam shape molder for the appliance, plumbing, furniture, electronics and automotive industries. It has received a $340,000 Michigan Business Development Program incentive to expand its current facility in Greenville. The company will invest up to $2.56 million and create 30 new jobs. The city of Greenville has also offered support in the form of a 12-year property tax abatement to the project.

Signed into law by Gov. Rick Snyder in December, the Michigan Business Development Program provides grants, loans and other economic assistance to qualified businesses that make investments or create jobs in Michigan, with preference given to businesses that need additional assistance for deal-closing and for second stage gap financing.

The Michigan Strategic Fund considers a number of factors in making these awards, including: out-of-state competition, private investment in the project, business diversification opportunities, near-term job creation, wage and benefit levels of the new jobs, and net-positive return to the state. Business retention and retail projects are not eligible for consideration of these incentives.